Publisher's Desk

Subramuniyaswami, Sivaya H.H.
DELIGHTED: We are all delighted at the response to our offer of the little pamphlet. Four Facts of Hinduism, for distribution to family, friends and the public. We still have thousands more here to send to you. Write in with your order.

LET'S DO BETTER STILL: It is our hope that our readers can promote Hinduism in their community and broaden its scope. This is why we are trying every issue to "shape up the paper" to your highest expectations. So please keep sending us your advice, articles and encouragement too.

WOULD LIKE TO MEET OUR READERS: As publisher of this big/little newspaper I would really like to meet and personally get to know our readers. True, some of us do know each other quite well all over the world. But we have new readers coming into the great Hinduism Today mind flow every day. Perhaps some of you have some good ideas of how we can contact each other. A Hinduism Today Convention perhaps! We shall anticipate your letters to Publisher's Desk.

A NEW BOOK, "GOD'S MONEY": Every Hindu institution - all but a few - has some kind of financial challenge or problem. Maintaining an institution can be a recurring, major, behind-the-scenes battle. And if maintenance is covered, perhaps there is nothing available for special projects. This has been a concern of ours throughout the years. We have been no exception. But now we have done something about it too. In the spirit of thanksgiving for all the good that has come to us throughout the year we would like to give a copy of the new book. God's Money: Dashamamsha the Hindu, law of Tithing, to the first eleven institutions who write to Publisher's Desk. God's Money was published by Himalayan Academy in San Francisco and released on Vijaya Dasami this year. The spiritual principles found within this book brought a deepened awareness of God's creative embrace of the universe and of Hinduism's status on the verge of the 21st century. It loosened mental tensions. It has also doubled our own institution's income. Here are some excerpts from Chapter 9 Hindu Magic:

"Hinduism is a religion of profound magic, the most precious and truly supernatural religion on planet Earth. It has always been so and should be perpetuated as such for centuries and centuries into the future. The Vedas glow with the wisdom of the "magic mind," the seeing of the interconnectedness between Deity, devas, nature and man. In the Hindu Vedic perception, nature is alive with beings; nature is actually the energy expression of deva-like beings. The inky cosmos stretching out for billions of light years is the energy expression of the Nameless One, whom the Vedic seer-poets gave many names. The great yajnas of fire and offerings sought to establish communication between man and God and the Gods, who were seen to be Beings woven of light and sound. Through these same rites the beings of nature could be beseeched. Rain would come in times of drought. Crop-killing winds were quelled. Trees fruited abundantly and cows gave milk in plentitude.

Faith takes commitment. There must be a step, a sacrificial step in order for faith to germinate in the mind. Dasamamsha is a practice of deep faith, a conviction that you are truly a steward of your possessions, not their owner. God is the creator, the owner. Giving God's money-one-tenth of your income for God-back to Hinduism, demonstrates a faith in the religion itself. Regularly giving to a Hindu monastery or temple, a society or institution, insures that their contribution to the magic of Hindu dharma will continue and hopefully be amplified. The idea is simply not for Hinduism to exist as is, but to grow, to expand its facilities and horizons-all revolving around the magic of Hindu unfoldment."